Employees and policies don't come to stay, there's either a whole bunch of new employees coming every now and then or a company policy keeps getting changed. And it's definitely not easy to communicate company policies to each employee individually. This is where employee handbooks come in!
Employee handbooks are a compilation of policies, work ethics, code of conduct, promotion policies, and everything that an employee might need to know about the business. Now there are two ways to make an employee handbook, manually or by using software.
And with the latter option, it's easier to update policies every now and then and ensure employee compliance.
But if you decide to do it the old school way and go manual, here's what happens
Company managers have so much going on, from dealing with the employees to handling the workspace and projects. On top of that, Creating a manual employee handbook is extremely time-consuming. It needs a thorough understanding of state laws about workplaces and so many other things.
Even Creating a template from scratch, organizing policies by indexes is time-consuming. Anyone would lose interest in the task by then. Using specialized online tools like AirMason can save time, provide customizable templates and indexed sections.
For a company to maintain workplace productivity it is very important that communication with employees is well-established and swift. Sometimes due to a crisis, temporary policies need to be implemented. Imagine having to manually update the handbook in those situations!
You can make yours, your HR's and your employees' lives so much easier if you regulate updates through some software. Handbook software can help create an effective handbook by adding real-time updates and communicating them with the employees without having to re-do the entire manual.
3. Little Or No Compliance To Policies
Employees tend to be lazy when it comes to reading through policies and handbooks. With manual handbooks, employers do not actually know if the employees went through the handbook and company policies. So, it makes it difficult to ensure that employees are familiarized with laws, policies, and company culture.
Software-based handbooks have various useful features like e-signature that tracks whether or not the employees have read through the policies. This improves law and policy compliance in the company and eliminates the back and forth policy-related questions of employees with HR.
Rival companies or sometimes problematic employees might try to temper with company policies or spread rumors in order to defame the company or take petty revenge. In the case of manual handbooks, there is no record keeping of who is accessing the handbook.
Anyone can make up a similar handbook with tempered policies and distribute it to create controversies.
This wouldn't be the case with handbook software. Employee handbook software keeps a complete record of when the latest updates were made and who made them because updating the handbook through a handbook software requires an e-signature and employee ID.
This is also helpful for generally keeping an eye on the update activity. So if handbook software is not used, you can put the privacy of your company in jeopardy!
Conclusion
A company needs all the time and money-saving it can get. But manual employee handbooks don't seem to help the case. Imagine spending months designing an employee handbook and by the time you're done, the company policies need to be altered.
And the process keeps repeating. It's frustrating and a waste of time and resources. Employee handbook software makes maintaining and communicating policies much better and easier!
